Techniques for restoring a shape from a plurality of images continue to create applications having a lot of appeal, from modeling of a model to restoration of a building. However, a lot of these techniques have solved many problems by assuming that a target object is a rigid body. In the case where an object is non-rigid, there has been a demand to solve problems using new methods, due to significant differences in assumption where shape is deformed. As shape restoration in the case where an object is non-rigid, in recent years a few method have been proposed, but a standardized method, as in the case of a rigid body, has not been established. This has therefore become a challenging topic in the field of computer vision.
It is conceivable that the technical challenges posed by the estimation of deformation of a non-rigid body, together with its application, will be able to make innovative contributions over a wide range of fields, from industrial inspection to entertainment. Up to now, in reports relating to similar methods there has been no suggestion of conclusive application developments, but highly beneficial approaches have been proposed. For example, evaluation experiments have been carried out to estimate deformation of paper, cans, T-shirts, yacht sails etc. In particular, a non-elastic material was used as a restraint condition, and focus placed on restoration of only deformation.
Here, non-elasticity of an object introduced with a conventional deformation model is considered to mean the fact that it is possible to develop to a flat state as long as the object has been deformed from an originally flat surface. An operation to carry out this development may possibly carry important significance for the restoration problem. Specifically, it is possible to use a condition where only a singe type of texture image exists that has been developed for all observed images. In this way, it is conceivable that there will be a significant advantage, in terms of enabling restoration of texture of an object surface using images that have been observed, with two aspects of application and technique.
This type of technology can conceivably contribute to the field of book digitalization. In recent years the need for digitalization of books has increased globally. When digitizing books, high speed and high resolution are essential, but a system that satisfies both of these demands has not yet been realized. Up to now, a style of sequentially digitizing pages of a book one at a time while the sheets are fixed in a comparatively flat state is common place, and this has a problem in that time is required.
In order to solve this problem, Book Flipping Scanning has been proposed (non-patent publication 1 below), to carry out digitalization by thumbing through pages of a book without stopping.
According to this new method, it is conceivable to create a number of system structures in accordance with various requirements, from industrial applications to individual applications. For example, a system has been proposed of a type that acquires a shape in real time using a 3-dimensional sensor, and corrects a deformed book image that has been acquired by a camera using information about this shape (non-patent publication 1 below). However, this system comprises only a single camera, and takes an image only once for each page, and as a result there was room for improvement from the point of view that resolution of the book image is low, and blind areas arise where the paper sheets are overlapped.